Frankfurt, meanwhile, were turned over 6-1 by Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, with all six goals conceded coming in the first half. Unlike Chelsea, their hold of fourth place in their respective league is hanging by a thread and their confidence may be shattered coming into this match.

Chelsea- Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi are both long-term absentees for Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri has confirmed N’Golo Kante won’t play again this season unless Chelsea make the Europa League final. Bet Now on NaijaBet

With a top four finish secured, Mauzirio Sarri should go with his strongest available team on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether he will stick with Olivier Giroud, who is the competition’s top scorer, or go with regular first choice striker Gonzalo Higuain.

Arsenal- Alexandre Lacazette’s suspension has been reduced and he is now available to face Rennes on Thursday, having missed the first leg. Sokratis is suspended, however, after being sent off against Rennes last week.

Lucas Torreira is currently in the middle of a domestic ban and has a good chance to start here, with Unai Emery set to shuffle his pack slightly. Bet Now on NaijaBet

Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the 2-0 win over former club Manchester United at the weekend through injury and remains a doubt here.

Marseille- Luiz Gustavo and Lucas Ocampos were both suspended against Nice at the weekend and could get some playing time here as a result. Rolando and Clinton N’Jie are the only injury concerns for Marseille. Naija and Bet

Manager Steven Gerrard said Rangers had knocked a quality side out of the Europa League on Thursday after the Scottish club drew 0-0 in Slovenia to beat Maribor 3-1 on aggregate.

After dominating the first leg at Ibrox, Rangers were given a stern test in Slovenia but maintained a clean sheet thanks to some solid defending and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who saved a stoppage-time penalty.

“We have knocked a Champions League team out of the qualifiers and they are devastated – they had confidence, they had ego coming into this game and they had no respect for us,” Gerrard said. Naija and Bet

“But, my players have proved over two legs we are better than Maribor, and that pleases me and that gives me great confidence going forward.”

Antoine Griezmann was the hero for Atletico Madrid as the French striker scored twice in their 3-0 win over Marseille in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Lyon, allowing his club to win the trophy for the third time in nine seasons.

It is Griezmann’s first major title with Atletico, and a fitting way to bow out if he leaves at the season’s end, with Barcelona tipped as his next destination.

Griezmann – brought up in Macon, just 70 kilometres from Lyon – scored once in each half, his lethal finishes coming to either side of Marseille losing Dimitri Payet to injury, the French team’s captain coming off in tears.

“This is a reward for me after I left home aged 14, for all the work I have put in, the suffering,” said Griezmann, who has spent his whole career in Spain but had only previously won one Spanish Super Cup.

Atletico’s triumph comes after agonising defeats to Real Madrid in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016. They had previously won the Europa League in 2010 and again in 2012, the latter coming just six months after Diego Simeone’s appointment as coach. Continue reading “Griezmann goals fires Atletico to Europa title”

Marseille lost ground in the race for a Champions League finish as they drew 3-3 with Guingamp on Friday night and they now sit three points behind Monaco ahead of the final week of the season. The Ligue 1 side have won just one of their last four competitive outings and just two of their last four Europa League matches.

They also lost their only visit to Parc OL this season, falling to a 2-0 loss to Lyon back in December, while their form away from the Velodrome in the Europa League this season has been poor, with just one win from their seven away games in Europe this term. Bet Now

Their form coming into this one, though, has been commendable, with Diego Simeone overseeing three wins in Atletico’s last four matches. However, like Marseille and the Velodrome, the Spanish side have faltered on their travels of late, with a five-match winless run preceding back-to-back wins over Alaves and Getafe, respectively. Continue reading “Europa League Final : Marseille vs Atletico Madrid”